For the month of May the Fellowship of Fantasy is hosting a fun, social media tag game!

Share your love of books and reading by answering the daily prompts on social media with the tag of #MayWeRead

Follow the hashtag to see what your fellow readers are reading and to find new books and authors!

​Prompt Schedule:May 1-Introduce yourself as a reader!May 2-Your favorite book/sMay 3-Your favorite genre/subgenreMay 4-Space, star, or sky themed book!May 5-Book with the best villainMay 6-Book with a theme of new life.May 7-Favorite seriesMay 8-Favorite StandaloneMay 9-Book with a flower on the coverMay 10-Book that starts with M.May 11-Inspiring book quoteMay 12-Book with a Bird in it!May 13-Best Book Mom!May 14-Favorite fictional characterMay 15-Book featuring mythologyMay 16-Funny book quoteMay 17-Book with a reader as a character.May 18-A book that touched you.May 19-Favorite book couple.May 20-Last book you reviewedMay 21-Best plot twist!May 22-Best book for a rainy day.May 23-Books featuring animal sidekicks.May 24-A book that made you cry.May 25-Book with a green cover.May 26-Give us a book title in Emojis!May 27-A book that made you happy.May 28-Book about heroes!May 29-Best bookish snack!May 30-Best book vacationMay 31-FREE DAY! Link your books!

Anthology FAQ and Guidelines

To submit send your finished and edited to the best of your ability work to hlb@hlburkeauthor.com as a doc attachment. Please do not include identifying information within the document as we do intend for blind judging. Any identifiers will be deleted. I promise to keep careful track of who submitted what. Expenses for anthology production will be split between accepted authors.

QUICK SUBMISSION RUNDOWN:1. 3K to 10k words2. Fantasy or Fantasy Subgenre.3. Fits the chosen theme of “Fairy Tales” in some way.4. Does not include explicit material, meets the group standards as expanded upon at our website. http://www.fellowshipoffantasy.com/submission-guidelines.html#submission5. A complete self-contained short story, not an excerpt of a larger work.6. Not currently available for purchase download (stories that are previously published in other publications or anthologies will be considered on a case by case basis. Please note in your submission email).7. Submissions start 4/14/2018 and run through 6/14/20188. While we will allow multiple submissions per author, only one will be accepted.

Time Frame:Submissions 4/14/2018 and run through 6/14/2018

Rather than allowing a long period for authors to rewrite and resubmit a story as we have in the past, we will be doing a simple acceptance/rejection system. Some small edits may be requested if we like a story enough to want it included but have some suggestions to make it shine even more. These will be returned to the author so that they can make the adjustments so we don’t have editors messing with the author’s voice.

Proofreading (grammar, punctuation, and spelling, not line editing) will be provided by the group, but please do your best to submit a clean first draft as it is just more professional.

Proofing will lead into prelaunch, and I would like to release the anthology in August.

General:

The purpose of the anthology is to provide a sample of various authors’ work and allow for us to pool our audience/social media presence to draw in more readers. The anthology will be free in ebook form.

As the book will not be making a profit, there will be no royalties paid out. The purpose of this anthology is marketing, not profit.

Since we cannot put the paperback version for free, there may be a small amount of revenue garnered from that version. We will put those funds back into advertising.

Rights:

We will draw up a contract that grants the anthology first publication rights with an expiration date so that you may republish the work on your own or submit it elsewhere after a four month period.

Submission Standards:

Each submission must be an original, self-contained work. Not an excerpt from a larger work (though it may be set in a world or use characters that also appear in a larger work, the story needs to read as a story, not as a “teaser” for a bigger project.).

Each work should be between 3k and 10k words. Works that are over or under by small amounts (say a couple hundred words) will be judged on a case by case basis.

Must fit the theme of “Fairy Tales” in some way, but we are open to a broad interpretation of said theme.

The group retains the right to reject an entry due to perceived issues of quality.

Submissions can be emailed to Anthology Coordinator, Heidi Burke at hlb@hlburkeauthor.com Please attach as a .doc file. Judging will be “blind” so remove any mention of the author name from the submission itself. We ask that you use a legible font in at least 11 pt. DO NOT TAB INDENT as this makes it difficult to format later.

Tone:

We actually want a varied tone rather than a homogenized one, so any work that fits the theme, length requirement, and content standards as listed above will be considered. Please no stories that are ONLY interesting to children, though. Stories that are appropriate for children or interesting to children are fine, but no easy reader or picture book level simplicity. Aim for at least Middle Grade content level, and try to provide something adult readers would enjoy as well.

Positions and Responsibilities:

Members will be asked to donate a small amount towards cover design, proofreading, and formatting expenses, but the team will work hard to keep this down to a low number. We’re looking at options for $30 premades for the cover, for instance. There will also be a $100 administration fee paid to Heidi Burke as the organizer of the project. The total amount depends on the length of the anthology and the number of authors splitting the prices, but for instance if proofreading turns out to be $200, formatting $75, cover design $30, and the one time fee is $100, then we have 10 participating authors, the inclusion fee will be $40, but if we have 15 participating authors (our cap) it will be $27 a piece. Also, those numbers are not set in stone (a shorter anthology means cheaper proofreading. Formatting is currently under investigation/negotiation. We are open to an author donating a completed cover design--to be approved by the group--rather than paying the fee).

Acceptance Criteria:​Things that will be considered by the judges include whether the piece: 1. Makes sense. I know we're writing fantasy, but does the story make sense or does it just seem to be a series of disconnected events ... this could also be phrased "is it confusing." Also looking out for continuity problems.2. Fits the theme: It in someway explores the idea of fairy tales.3. Not error filled ... we do not expect "error free." Typos and mistakes are forgivable, that's why we'll have editing rounds, but it's just good to clean up your own mess, don't submit something with constant tense switching, obvious misspellings, and other errors.4. Fits the word count range ... don't submit a 15k word monster. Don't submit a 500 word flash. 5. Actually has a story with a clear arc and resolution. 6. Actually has characters with definable characteristics.7. Does not suffer from obvious writing "problems" like over use of passive voice, head hopping, info dumps ... We realize that some of these can be subjective and depend on taste. We are going to arrange a system of readers to both lessen the workload for the administration and create some protection against the whole thing being “Stories Heidi Really Likes” instead of “Stories with Broad Appeal.” ​

The Winning Entries!

Entry Seven by Anaya H

The door creaked open and a flash of light greeted Alli as she peered around the door and saw a sun-filled library. She saw the library was full of old, dusty books. The air smelled citrusy. Alli pulled down an ancient leather volume entitled: The Book of Kings. “Huh, this looks interesting,” Alli murmured.“That is a fine book!” said a voice. “What?” gasped Alli, pivoting and saw an old lady in a flowing white dress sitting at a battered circulation desk “Who… who are you?” Alli asked fearfully.“I am the guardian of knowledge. My name is Juliette.” the woman said. “My... my name is Alli. What do you mean by ‘knowledge’?” Alli asked with raised eyebrows.“I mean the knowledge of generations, written down for others to read.” Juliette responded.“Oh. What’s in this?” Alli held up The Book of Kings.“That contains the knowledge of ancient kings, triumphs and mistakes.” replied Juliette. “Can you tell me how you found the library?” “I was exploring the barn, then I saw the doorknob, opened the door, and here I am.” Alli responded. “Hmm. Thank you for that explanation. The library is found only by lovers of wisdom; usually children. Would you like to know more of my job?” “Sure!” exclaimed Alli.“My job is to protect these books from those who hate wisdom. I found the library when I was a child and I have stayed here. I need an apprentice to take over my job when I am too old to do so. Are you interested?” Juliette looked questioningly at Alli. “Me? I can’t! My family …” Alli trailed off, looking at Juliette, who suddenly seemed older. Alli looked at the floor to hide her red face. Then she ran out of the library with The Book of Kings under her arm. Juliette cried after her: “Beware! The door may disappear! It was opened for a reason, yet it may vanish!”That night in her bed, Alli read The Book of Kings. It was the best book she had ever read. The book told tales of wise kings, foolish princes, empires that rose and fell-the book was wisdom in its essence. Alli made a choice that night. She ran back the next day, afraid the china doorknob wouldn’t be there. She ran, heart pounding wildly into the barn, climbed up to the hayloft and looked around desperately. Thank goodness! By the pitchfork she saw the beautiful china doorknob and ran into the library. “Juliette! I changed my mind!” she shouted. Juliette materialized next to Alli. “Really? You have?’’ she cried. Alli nodded looking happy, yet sad. “Can you make everyone’s memories of me disappear, like I never existed?’’ “I can.” Juliette shut her eyes, and a strong wind whipped though the library. “It is done.” Juliette said. Alli was wearing a dress like Juliette’s dress. Juliette squeezed Alli’s shoulder. “Are you prepared?” she asked. “Yes,” said Alli in a solemn tone. They stood ready to share wisdom together.

Entry Six: We Otter Do Itby Deborah O'Carroll

The door creaked open. A tall, wobbling stack of parchment pattered into the room on little furry paws. At least, that’s what it looks like when your otter secretary comes into your office carrying the mail.I’m a respectable young man and a magician, and nobody would believe me if I told them my life is tyrannized by an adorable otter.I braced myself in my chair. “What is it today, Gavin?”He scampered up the ramp plank onto my desk, where he dropped the sizable stack of parchment with a whump. Gavin’s bright black eyes blinked cheerfully through a storm of sudden dust. He hummed and twitched his whiskers.“I don’t suppose you’d like to dust in here sometime,” I muttered, sorting through papers.Gavin scribbled on the blotter with a feather pen as tall as himself: Not in my job description.Then he stood hovering hopefully over the papers beside me, plumy feather pen waiting in one paw like an eager question mark.Teaching Gavin to write was the best and worst thing I’d ever done. Best, because I really had needed a secretary. Worst, because he has this addiction to filling out forms. It’s his favorite thing in the worlds.Magicians get all sorts of requests to do this or that: find a lost child or cat, speak about Enchanted Forest safety, fix the town square’s fountain, entertain at a party, and goodness knows what else. I do my best to keep up, but my schedule is full, and somebody keeps over-committing me. The forms arrive in heaps, and Gavin is there waiting to fill them out. To save me time. Of course.“Don’t have time for this party,” I grunted.But they asked so nicely, Gavin scribbled. Why not?“Why not,” I sighed, waving a hand in the air to make his scribbles vanish.Gavin contentedly filled out the form: Would be happy to come. He signed my name.I stared at an acknowledgment of thanks, for agreeing to enchant the Prime Minister’s office against thieves next week. “This will take ages. I don’t remember signing up for this.” I squinted suspiciously at Gavin’s innocent whiskery face. “You filled this one out without asking me, didn’t you?”The pen scratched: You’d have done it anyway.“That’s beside the point! Don’t let it happen again.”Gavin nodded amiably, passing another request.“Save the world?” I exclaimed. “I don’t have time to save the world! Look at my calendar!”Gavin did—pinned to the wall (beside the clear water tank he swims in). Appointments filled every inch. He turned on me with the most hopeful, pleading expression.I slumped in my chair in defeat. “Fine. Just this once. But don’t let it become a habit.”Gavin bounced with joy, and happily began filling out the form with inky flourishes.“And don’t come running to me when the Prime Minister yells at us for being late!”Gavin nodded and beamed, scribbling away.I’m definitely in for it.